Love and Monsters
by Vampirerex1
Summary: Our life's a stage, a comedy; either learn to play and take it lightly or bear its troubles patiently - palladas. Vanessa Leo isn't your typical human woman. She was born with feline DNA laying dormant until she is electrocuted when she is three. From then on her life is turned upside down, but can she find love in an unlikely place? Full sum inside, NOT CONNECTED TO FELIS LEO.
1. Chapter 1: Vanessa

**Author:** Vampirerex1  
**Beta: Grand Master Darkstorm  
****Category:** Movies - Avengers  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, they belong to Marvel. I'm only playing with the characters. I only own Vanessa Leo, Maddison Leo, James Leo, Jason Bantim, Martha Bantim and Liza Bantim  
**Genre(s):** Romance/Adventure  
**Music suggested for chapter**: Shakespeare's sister - Stay.  
**Pairing(s):** Hulk/Bruce Banner/OC, with a possible Thor/OC.  
**Rating** for chapter: T  
**Summary:** Our life's a stage, a comedy; either learn to play and take it lightly or bear its troubles patiently - palladas. Vanessa Leo isn't your typical human woman. She was born with feline DNA laying dormant until she is electrocuted when she is three. From then on her life is turned upside down, but can she find love in an unlikely place? Can a 'monster' find love in our feline? Or will a Norse God earn her heart?  
**Title:** Love and Monsters.  
**Warning(s):** none.

_Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is  
worth living, and your belief will help  
create the fact. - **William James**_

**Chapter** **1:** Vanessa

"Okay Mrs Leo, can you give us one last push?" The midwife asked.

After an excruciating ten hours of labour, with her drifting in and out of consciousness, Maddison Leo gave one final push and fell back against the pillows as her baby was born. She stayed awake, just long enough to hear that she'd had a baby girl and then she fell into unconsciousness. The midwife sorted the baby out and put her into a blanket and gave her to Maddison's birthing partner, Martha Bantim. Just as the baby touched Martha's arms, Maddison went into a cardiac arrest, the machines were beeping and screaming and the nurses came in, asking Martha to leave while they sorted Maddison out. Half an hour later, the female doctor came out and gave Martha a look of sympathy.

"I'm sorry Mrs Bantim, Maddison had an uncontrollable bleed after delivering the baby. We tried all we could, but...unfortunately she had lost too much blood for us to save her" she said.

Martha looked at the doctor with a look of disbelief, before she started chuckling.

"That's a good one, you're kidding right?" She asked.

The doctor however, kept a sorrowful look upon her face, which after a few minutes, made Martha stop chuckling and her face fell.

"Oh my god, you're not joking" she said.

The doctor reached out to put her hand on Martha's shoulder, before she had to take the baby as Martha fell to the floor in a heap. She gave the baby to a nurse just as Martha's husband got there in time to see his wife hit the floor and went over to see what was wrong.

"Mattie? What's wrong sweetheart?" He asked.

The woman looked up to her husband, tears creating tracks through her foundation and her mascara running. She gripped her husband's hand and squeezed it.

"Maddie's dead Jay, she's gone" she cried.

Jason Bantim knelt down and pulled his wife into his arms, hugging her and rocking her too. He then looked up to the doctor and pulled out an envelope, handing it to the doctor.

"Before Maddie came here to give birth, she told me that if anything were to happen to her during childbirth or after it, that we were to give this to the attending doctor or midwife" he said.

The doctor took the envelope and opened it, reading the letter inside and looking at the bottom to see that Maddison Leo had indeed written this, as it was her signature at the bottom. She looked at the couple and nodded giving a smile and putting the letter and envelope into her pocket.

"We'll make the preparations. Do you have any idea what you want to call her?" She asked.

Martha looked up and thought, remembering the name that Maddison had wanted to call her child if it were a girl, she gave a smile and then looked at the doctor.

"Vanessa. Her name will be Vanessa" she replied.

The doctor nodded and then walked off towards the neonatal ward. Jason helped Martha up and they followed her, looking at the little baby girl who'd just been born. They both gave a small smile and looked at each other.

"Liza's gonna have a little sister" Jason said.

Martha nodded. She was still sad for her friend, but at least something good had come out of this day. A little baby girl was coming into their lives, giving their own daughter a little sister to teach and play with.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_A few months later_

Three agents turned up outside of the house where Martha, Jason, Liza and Vanessa lived, they got out of their car and walked up to the door, knocking on it. Jason answered the door and stepped out of it, talking with the three Agents. Martha however, was looking at them from the kitchen window, what on earth were they talking about? She gave a sigh and turned around when Jason came back in and the three agents left the place. Martha whirled around and looked at her husband.

"You _told_ them?" She asked.

Jason looked at his wife and his face showed sorrow.

"I had to Mattie, the guys who created her could come and find her and we won't be able to help. At least if S.H.I.E.L.D know about her, they can help conceal her" he replied.

Martha shook her head and sighed.

"We could've managed without the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. You didn't have to actually _tell_ them about her!" She yelled.

Jason looked down, giving a sigh and shaking his head too.

"You know what James was into before he had that convenient car crash, he's the reason Nessa is the way she is" he said.

Martha shook her head and walked out of the kitchen, going into the lounge where Vanessa was crying because she either needed changing or feeding. Martha then looked at her husband.

"If they come, because you told S.H.I.E.L.D where she is, I'll blame you and you can sort them out" she stated.

Jason looked at his wife and nodded, before Martha took Vanessa out of the crib and put her on the floor, getting down there to change the little girl's diaper. Jason looked at the time and got his coat on, Martha looked at him.

"Where're you going?" She asked.

Jason looked at his wife and pointed to the time.

"To pick Liza up" he replied.

Martha nodded and then continued to change the diaper of the little girl. Jason walked out of the house and got into his car, starting it up and driving to the school to pick his daughter up.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_Three years later_

"Come on Nessa, we're gonna be late" Liza called.

Vanessa made her way down the stairs and walked up to her sister, taking her hand as Liza took Vanessa to the car. Getting into the car, Jason drove them to Kindergarten and school. He kissed Liza on the head before she kissed Vanessa and walked off, then he took Vanessa into the kindergarten and kissed her head, telling her that he'd see her later. He then left to do some things around the house. A few hours later, Vanessa was playing in the hallway of the kindergarten, when a stray wire caught her attention. She crawled over to it and picked it up, lifting her hand to put it in her mouth. A teacher from the school was just walking around the corner, when Vanessa's mouth closed around the wire and sent her flying against the wall.

The teacher screamed and ran over to Vanessa, kneeling down and putting her head to the little girl's chest, surprised to hear a heart beat, though it was beating rather rapidly. Another teacher came out of a class and the first teacher instructed her to call an ambulance, before she called for the head mistress and told her to call Vanessa's mother, which the headmistress did. When the first teacher looked back to Vanessa, she saw that the child's fingers and nails were moulding together and growing longer and pointier. She sat back and watched as the child began to grow taller, before shrinking again and her fingers and nails went back to normal. The other teacher came out to see the first teacher looking at Vanessa in shock.

"What is it?" She asked.

The first teacher looked up at the second teacher and then looked back down to Vanessa.

"She just grew taller, a-and her fi-fingers and n-nails moulded and grew longer and pointier" she replied.

The second teacher came over to the first teacher and sat down beside her.

"You're in shock, the bus is on it's way" she said.

The first teacher shook her head, adamant that what she'd just seen wasn't part of hallucinations due to shock. Finally Martha and the ambulance arrived at the school and Martha was the first one in there, looking at Vanessa with tears in her eyes.

"Oh my god, how did this happen?" She asked.

The first teacher looked at Martha, having calmed down from being in shock thanks to a particularly sweet cup of coffee and sighed.

"I don't know Mrs Bantim, I came around the corner and she was putting a stray wire in her mouth. It happened so suddenly, as soon as the wire hit her mouth, she was thrown against the wall" she replied.

Martha looked at the teachers and felt more tears come down her face.

"Why wasn't she being watched?" She questioned.

The headmistress came over to them, after hearing the conversation.

"Mrs Bantim, this school is child safe, although we did have some builders in recently. One of them must've left a wire on show and Vanessa must have found it" she said.

Martha shook her head and cried as Vanessa was loaded into the bus. She got into the bus too and rang Jason.

"Jason, can you come and get my car and pick Liza up, there's been an accident at the kindergarten" she said.

The man had said yes and had said that he was on his way, walking up to the school so he could get the car and pick Liza up too, before driving to the hospital. Once there, they found out where Vanessa was being kept and they went there, seeing Vanessa sat up and in Martha's arms, a burn mark on her lips and her eyes watering. A doctor came into the room and smiled.

"I'm just going to check that there's no lasting damage" he said.

Martha nodded and sat Vanessa forward as the doctor put a stethoscope to Vanessa's back and checked her heartbeat, that was fine, then he pulled a pen torch out of his pocket and looked down to Vanessa.

"Vanessa, I'm just going to shine this in your eyes alright, I'm going to need you to look straight at me alright?" He asked.

The little girl nodded and did what the doctor had asked. The doctor smiled and then turned the pen torch off.

"Well done, you have very beautiful Golden eyes" he said.

Martha looked at him and tilted her head to the side.

"Jade" she stated.

The doctor looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Pardon?" He asked.

Martha looked at him in an odd way.

"Vanessa's eyes are jade" she answered.

The doctor shook his head and then motioned to Vanessa, who's eyes were still golden brown.

"No Mrs. Bantim. Her eyes are golden brown" he said.

Martha looked at him and then put her hand under Vanessa's chin and turned her to face her. She then saw that the doctor was right, Vanessa's eyes were indeed golden brown.

"Well, apart from that. She's all healthy and everything's working as it should be. She can go home, just remember to rinse that burn off with some saline solution every day" he said.

Martha nodded and then gave a small smile, looking at Vanessa and smiling at her before taking her home.

**~Love and Monsters~**

As soon as they got home, Martha looked at Vanessa's eyes again and saw that once again they were jade. She gave a concerned look and then walked into the house, sitting Vanessa down to watch the TV before taking Jason upstaris to talk with him.

"What did James do to Maddie when she first got pregnant with Nessa?" She asked.

Jason gave Martha a look and gave a shrug.

"I don't know Mattie, I honestly don't know. All I know is that it was something to do with mutating genes with feline DNA, as if trying to recreate what happened with a man Sixty years ago, only he was just...born with his mutated genes" he replied.

Martha nodded and then sighed.

"Why do you ask?" Jason asked.

Martha gave him a look and then looked away.

"Her eyes were golden brown at the hospital, but they're jade again now" she replied.

Jason nodded and then thought.

"It could've been the electrocution that had activated the dormant feline genes in her DNA" he said.

Martha didn't know what he was talking about so just zoned out. Jason finished talking and then looked at Martha, who looked at him.

"How're we going to keep this from other people?" She asked.

Jason shook his head.

"I don't know Martha, I really don't" he answered.

Martha sighed and walked down stairs, watching Vanessa while she watched TV with Liza.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_**A/N: Hey peeps, so here's another story of The Avengers. This time however, this will be going on throughout Avengers Assemble, so Nessa and Bruce can meet each other under different circumstances and hopefully I can get the characters into...well...you know...character. Anyway, so thiese first few chapters will be getting to know Vanessa from the moment she is born, to when Nick Fury seeks her out and asks her to join The Avengers. I won't give anything away for the chapters, because I want you to be surprised. Now a little apology here, I'm sorry if this first chapter is a little boring, but it's necessary for you to get to know Vanessa and so you can get into the mind of my character. I want you to know everything about her before I go onto her meeting with Nick and possibly joining The Avengers.**_

_**Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this story and please don't forget to review. ConCrit only, no flames please. I know I've been on this site for a while, but I am still only learning to adapt my writing skills as I don't really have much time to write creatively, because I need to look after my family and my animals too. Anyways, enjoy the story and leave a review if you please. Reviewers will get a mention, so will Followers and Favouriters, so bear that in mind. If you want your name to appear on the bottom of this story, then review! :]**_

_**Vampyrex1**_


	2. Chapter 2: School

**Author:** Vampirerex1  
**Beta: Grand Master Darkstorm  
****Category:** Movies - Avengers  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, they belong to Marvel. I'm only playing with the characters. I only own Vanessa Leo, Maddison Leo, James Leo, Jason Bantim, Martha Bantim and Liza Bantim  
**Genre(s):** Romance/Adventure  
**Music suggested for chapter**: Skillet - Monster  
**Pairing(s):** Hulk/Bruce Banner/OC, with a possible Thor/OC.  
**Rating** for chapter: T  
**Summary:** Our life's a stage, a comedy; either learn to play and take it lightly or bear its troubles patiently - palladas. Vanessa Leo isn't your typical human woman. She was born with feline DNA laying dormant until she is electrocuted when she is three. From then on her life is turned upside down, but can she find love in an unlikely place? Can a 'monster' find love in our feline? Or will a Norse God earn her heart?  
**Title:** Love and Monsters.  
**Warning(s):** none.

_Courage is the first of human qualities  
because it is the quality which guarantees  
all others **- Winston Churchill**_

**Chapter 2: **School

_Four years later_

"Liza, can you help me put my shoes on please?" Vanessa asked.

The ten year old black haired girl looked at her adopted sister and nodded, going over to help the younger girl put her school shoes on. During the last four years, nothing out of the ordinary had happened to Vanessa, apart from when her adopted sister made her angry or upset, her jade eyes would turn golden brown, her fingers and fingernails would mould together and elongate and she would begin to grow taller, that is until Martha calmed her down and punished Liza for making Vanessa angry or upset. As Liza helped Vanessa put her shoes on, Jason came through the door. In the four years after Vanessa had been electrocuted at the kindergarten, Jason had taken up night shifts at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. Liza and Vanessa both grinned up at him and ran up to him hugging him.

"Daddy!" They both called.

Jason, tired as he was, always made time for his two daughters. He would always kneel down and let them almost bowl him over in their attempt to get a hug from him after not seeing him all night. After giving them both hugs and each of them a kiss to their head, he would let them go about their daily routine while he went to see Martha, to give her a kiss good morning and a kiss goodnight before going up to bed. Martha would then make sure the girls were ready for school and take them to the educational institute. Today started like every other day did, Martha got both Liza and Vanessa up and made sure Vanessa went to the bathroom as Liza knew to do that herself now and then she made sure that both girls got washed before getting dressed in their school uniform. Once Jason was in bed, Martha got the girls' packed lunches and then got the girls into the car and drove them to school. Little did she know that today would turn out differently than all the other days had.

Playtime came around in the school, it was a time thaat Vanessa usually liked, because she got to go out and try and make new friends. She already had a group of friends in the school, but she liked to make new ones too. Today though, where she usually went to play, a group of bullies were stood there, she looked over at them and decided to go someplace else, only to have the bullies move to the place she was moving over to.

"Where're you going freak?" One of the girls asked.

Vanessa looked at them, giving a bit of a smile.

"I was going to come here and play, because you were playing in the place I usually play in" she replied.

The bullies laughed at her and surrounded her, looking over her and each giggling and whispering something to one another. One of the girls then pulled at Vanessa's clothing.

"What are these, hand-me-down's?" She asked.

Vanessa pulled away and the others all 'ooooh'ed and laughed.

"I think little Miss Leo has an attitude problem" one of the other girls said.

The first girl gave them a look and smiled.

"Well, I think we should sort that out, don't you?" She asked them.

They all cheered in unisen and Vanessa knew that she would need to get away from them, before she got hurt, or worse, they did. She ducked out from under one of the girl's arms and began to run away from them. The girls chased after her, but because they were a little faster than her, one of the girls caught her hair and pulled her back. Vanessa's hands instinctively went up to try and lessen the pain coming from her scalp and tears came to her eyes.

"Please let me go?" She pleaded.

The girl who had her hair chuckled and pulled her hair even more, one of the other girls then kicked Vanessa's leg and this made Vanessa fall to the floor, crying now. Her eyes were closed tightly and her mouth was open as she cried. One of the girls then slapped Vanessa around the face and all of a sudden, she stopped crying, the tear tracks were still on her face, but she'd stopped making noise. She went limp in the girl's arms and the girl let her go, lookng to the girl who had slapped Vanessa around the face.

"I think you killed her" she said.

Then Vanessa began to groan in pain, her eyes opened and instead of being jade, they were golden brown, the pupils almost the size of a thumb tack head, the girls watched as Vanessa's fingers and fingernails moulded together and began to grow longer and get pointier, her top and bottom canine teeth began to elongate, her hair got longer and her body began to get taller. Instead of groaning in pain now, she was almost growling. The girls were shocked.

"What are you doing freak?" The first girl asked.

Vanessa didn't answer them except to just growl, she stopped growing, having reached five feet tall and she was still growling.

"Stop that" the second girl said.

Vanessa looked at the girls and then gave a frightening roar, making the girls scared and they all began to run away from the strange cat-like-girl. However, this only succeeded in making the cat-like-girl run after them and boy was she fast on her feet. She caught up with the girl who had slapped her and grabbed her by the hair and threw her back, watching her body hit a tree and slump down at the bottom, unconscious and with internal bleeding. The cat-like-girl then ran after the other girls who were hiding, she found them after looking for a while and did the same to all of them, before she ran off, leaving only all of her ripped clothing on the field and the girls who were all unconscious and hurt badly by the trees. The cat-like-girl ran back to the place she felt safe, back to the house she lived in. She broke into the bedroom and sat in the corner, growling and snarling. The door to the room suddenly opened slowly and Martha popped her head around the door, seeing the cat-like-girl sat in the corner. She slowly went in and carefully closed the door, taking measured steps towards the creature in the corner.

"Nessa?" She asked quietly.

The creature looked up and snarled, Martha stopped in her steps and held out her hand, realising that it was indeed Vanessa. She gave a bit of a smile and began to slowly walk forwards again, before crouching down with her hand out. Being a veterinary surgeon, Martha knew how to deal with agressive and nervous dogs and cats.

"It's alright Nessa, you're safe, it's okay" she said.

Her tone was calming and the creature slowly stopped snarling and growling, slowly moving towards the woman, her head going under the woman's outstretched had. Martha let loose a sob and pulled the creature into her arms, seeing the blood on her fingernails and the hair in them too. Slowly, in Martha's embrace, the creature began to calm down and as a result, it began to shrink, the nails and fingers going back to normal, the teeth going back to normal, the body shrinking back to normal and finally the eyes went from golden brown to jade. Martha looked down at the now little girl in her arms, naked as the day she was born and shivering slightly. Her breathing was even, signalling that she was asleep. Martha let a few tears run down her face, her precious little girl, adopted though she may be, was in essence, a monster. She sighed, got up, got Vanessa dressed and put her in bed, as she went out the door, Jason came out of the bedroom, to see Martha coming out of Vanessa's and Liza's bedroom with tears running down her face.

"Mattie? What's the matter?" He asked.

Martha looked at her husband and broke down in tears. She would've fallen to her knees had Jason not caught her.

"Nessa's in bed, Jay she wasn't herself" she replied.

Jason looked at her and then the phone began to ring. Jason left his wife to answer it, he talked for a minute before he put the phone down and looked at Martha.

"A group of girls at the school've been taken into hospital, S.H.I.E.L.D were on the scene. The girls have scratches everywhere, broken ribs and possible internal bleeding. They found Nessa's clothing at the scene" he said.

Martha looked up in worry.

"They'll take her away, we can't let them do that" she stated.

Jason nodded and then had an idea.

"We'll take them both out of school, go to the little nature reserve my parents created when I was younger, it's in Oklahoma, but that doesn't matter, we can deal with it" he said.

Martha nodded and then opened the door to see Vanessa still asleep in her bed. She looked at Jason and gave a pleading look. Jason nodded.

"I'll get Liza, you'll need to pack some things, only enough to get us there though. We can buy some more things when we get there" he stated.

This made Martha nod and as Jason went into the bedroom to get himself dressed, Martha went into the girls' bedroom and began to gather some spare underwear for the girls and some spare trousers and tops. She then went into hers and Jason's bedroom and put the girls' things in their suitcase, before putting hers and Jason's spare clothing into the suitcase too. She then took it downstairs and got a plastic bag and began to pack some food that didn't need to be in the fridge and got ready for when Jason came back.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_A few months later_

Jason, Martha, Liza and Vanessa were now in Oklahoma, they were in a little cabin in the middle of nowhere with a little lake and waterfall at the back, it was almost like the perfect piece of paradise, apart from the occasional supercell that was drawing near. In the time they'd got here, they'd found out that Vanessa was calmer around other domestic felines. So they'd got a few cats and found that no matter how Liza tried to wind her up, the cats kept Vanessa calm. It was on one day that the Bantim family would suffer a blow and it was on this one day, that S.H.I.E.L.D would lose their only connection to Vanessa Leo.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_**A/N: Wahoo, the second chapter's up. I want to make sure that I'm keeping Vanessa's character consistent to how I planned her to be. I hope my writing of this story is...sufficient to say the least, it's something that's been playing in my mind ever since I wrote Felis Leo, I did realise that you guys (the readers) don't know anything about Vanessa's younger life, and while this story isn't connected to Felis Leo, I hope that if you read this story, you'll get a feel for Vanessa's character better if you read my other story. Anyways, I want to say thanks to all my readers, just to know that you're taking the time to read my story makes me get the bubbles in my stomach, or maybe that's just hunger, who knows, all I know is that I get it when I see that one more or two more people have read my story. I hope that it's up to standard for all of you guys, but if I'm doing something wrong, please don't hesitate to tell me. If you do so nicely, you might even get a special thank you. So...the thank you's and awards (of hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows) go to...**_

_**- DoctorMerlinfan**_

_**For reviewing on my story. Kudos to you for being the first reviewer out of 42 people and...**Jenfalls23**, **Maniacal Daydreamer **and **Neo Nitro **for following and favouriting my story. As I keep saying, the follows and the favourites mean as much to me as the reveiws do. But that doesn't mean that all I wish to get for this story are favourites and follows hehe, I would like some more reviews for it. Lets say, 3 more reviews and I'll add a little sneak peak of the next chapter in the next chapter. Enjoy the story and thank you all.**_

_**Vampyrex1**_


	3. Chapter 3: Life

**Author:** Vampirerex1  
**Beta: Grand Master Darkstorm  
****Category:** Movies - Avengers  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, they belong to Marvel. I'm only playing with the characters. I only own Vanessa Leo, Maddison Leo, James Leo, Jason Bantim, Martha Bantim and Liza Bantim  
**Genre(s):** Romance/Adventure  
**Music suggested for chapter**: Evanescence - My Immortal  
**Pairing(s):** Hulk/Bruce Banner/OC, with a possible Thor/OC.  
**Rating** for chapter: T  
**Summary:** Our life's a stage, a comedy; either learn to play and take it lightly or bear its troubles patiently - palladas. Vanessa Leo isn't your typical human woman. She was born with feline DNA laying dormant until she is electrocuted when she is three. From then on her life is turned upside down, but can she find love in an unlikely place? Can a 'monster' find love in our feline? Or will a Norse God earn her heart?  
**Title:** Love and Monsters.  
**Warning(s):** none.

_Everything that happens to us leaves  
some trace behind; everything  
contributes imperceptibly to make us  
what we are **- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe**_

**Chapter 3: **Life

"I'll see you later Jason" Martha said.

Jason gave his wife a smile, a nod and then a kiss.

"Give my love to the girls" he said.

Martha nodded and then Jason left the cabin and walked out to the road that lead into the forest, where he'd parked his car. Martha went back into the cabin and sat down in the little living area, beginning to crochet some things, a tea cosy maybe, perhaps even a doily. She gave a small sigh, coming out here, though it was to protect Vanessa from S.H.I.E.L.D and possibly the people who had created her, it wasn't exactly a place to enjoy yourself in. She looked over at the girls, to see that they were asleep, so she walked out of the cabin and sat out by the fire, enjoying the scenery. That was about all there was to enjoy out here.

The day passed slowly and Martha found herself, more often than not, sleeping. When the girls were out playing in the grass, she would be in the cabin resting on the couch. Vanessa and Liza loved it out in the big open space, it was fun for them to play hide-and-go-seek, the forests were really dense and therefore could hide them easily, seeing as the trees were also quite thick. Liza was currently trying to find Vanessa after their last bout of the game, she was always so good at hiding and always so good at finding too, so playing hide-and-go-seek with Vanessa was really a no brainer as Vanessa almost always won. As she was about to go into the trees to find her adopted little sister, she stopped, having heard her mother scream the word 'no'. She was sure Vanessa had heard it too and her suspicions were proved correct when Vanessa came running out of the trees.

"Mom!" They both called.

They both ran into the cabin, to see their mother on her disposable mobile phone, crying and holding a shaking hand to her mouth. She'd just learned that her husband had been in a serious car crash and it had proved to be fatal to him. With no way to get to the hospital, except walk, Martha couldn't get there to say goodbye. What hurt her the most, was the fact that this morning, before he had gone off to the new job he was starting, they hadn't told one another that they loved each other. She put the phone down and began to sob heavily, Vanessa and Liza looked at each other and both went over to their mother, sitting next to her on the couch and cuddling up to her. The distraught woman pulled them both in for hugs, determining which would be the best way to tell them that their father wasn't going to be coming home anytime soon.

"G-girls, y-your f-father...h-he had a-an accident" she began.

Both of the girls looked up at their mother and somehow, Liza could tell that something really bad had happened.

"He's not coming home is he?" She asked.

Martha looked down at her eldest child and shook her head.

"No baby, he's not going to come home, he's going to go and play with the angels" she replied.

Liza nodded and then Vanessa caught on and tears started gathering in her eyes. She ran out of the cabin and going to her secret spot in the woods, the one only she knew about, well...her and the animals that lived there too.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_Eleven years later._

"Nessa!" A woman called.

Vanessa appeared from the side of the woods with a dead rabbit in her hands, the other woman gave the younger woman a look of...almost disapproval, but it changed as soon as she saw what the younger woman had in her hands.

"Come on young lady" she said.

Vanessa chuckled and began to walk towards the cabin. Even after all this time, she and her adoptive sister were still living in the cabin, especially after their mother passed away because of a broken heart when Vanessa was Fourteen.

"Yes mom, jeez, you're sounding more and more like her each day" she said.

Liza gave her adoptive sister a glare and reached out to slap her upside the head, a slap which Vanessa easily managed to dodge, laughing as she did.

"You'll have to be faster than that Liz" she said.

Liza shook her head and chuckled. Vanessa had grown into a lovely and beautiful young woman, with a smooth face, beautiful long golden brown lashes framing her beautiful and hypnotic jade eyes, full pink lips and golden brown hair that reached her shoulders. She was about five foot four inches tall and had quite the toned body. See when Vanessa had reached sixteen, she had started wanting to keep her body the way it was, trim and in shape, so she had gone and found a place in the clearing that she could put a metal bar on and do pull ups. She had labelled that part of the clearing her outside gymnasium and would often be there when she wasn't helping Liza with collecting firewood or food.

"Come on Nessa, lets get this fire going and that rabbit plucked and skinned" Liza said.

Vanessa grinned and sat down, letting Liza make the fire as she really didn't like it. She didn't know why she didn't like it, all she knew was that from al early age, she'd had an aversion to fire, almost like it scared her. She didn't care to watch Liza as she began to pluck the fur out of the rabbit before taking a knife and chopping the head off. It always hurt her to do this to a seemingly innocent animal and every time she did do it, she wished the animals' spirit a safe return to whence it came.

"You alright there Nessa?" Liza asked.

Vanessa gave her a look and nodded.

"I'm fine Liza, you know I don't like fire" she replied.

Liza nodded and then put her hand on Vanessa's shoulder.

"Your safe Nessa" she said.

Vanessa nodded and then gave the skinned and gutted rabbit to Liza, getting up and walking away from the place, going to go and wash her hands in the pool.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_A few weeks later_

Vanessa was working out on her work out bar, when she spotted a car coming up the road, she jumped down from the bar and began to run towards the cabin, unfortunately her heart rate increased triple as she ran. She groaned, but continued to run, getting back to the cabin and telling Liza of what she'd seen before running off. Liza came out of the cabin and looked to where Vanessa had run off to, about to follow, she saw a black car drive up to the cabin. Two men got out and walked up to her.

"Are you Vanessa Leo?" One asked.

Liza shook her head. She looked at them and raised an eyebrow.

"Who're you?" She asked.

One of the men looked at her, his face stony.

"Who we are is of no importance. We are after Miss Leo. You will tell us where she is or suffer the consequences" he said.

Liza then realised who they were. They definately weren't a part of S.H.I.E.L.D, so it was obvious that they were the people who had created Vanessa. She swallowed and backed up a little, the men walked towards her and Liza felt tears running down her face. The man continued to advance on her and her tears then turned into sobs, which turned into a scream.

Vanessa, who was in the trees trying to calm herself down, heard the scream of her adoptive sister and best friend and looked out, though she couldn't see anything past the gigantuan trees that were blocking her way. However, she could hear the fear in that scream and that got her blood boiling. She ran as fast as she could towards the cabin, where she saw the two men holding Liza up by her throat.

"Let her go!" She growled.

One of the men turned towards her and gave a smile.

"Hello Vanessa. My haven't you grown into a beautiful young lady" he said.

Vanessa glared at him, her eyes between Jade and Golden Brown. The man laughed a little and strapped away from Liza, moving towards Vanessa, who began to step back.

"Now, now little Vanessa, we need you to come with us" he said.

Vanessa growled.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, whoever you are" she said.

The man laughed and then pulled a gun out and held it against Liza's head.

"You have three seconds to change your answer or your sister gets a bullet through her temple" he warned.

Vanessa could feel herself getting angrier and angrier, her eyes changed colour. She began to growl louder, the noise becoming more insistent. The man raised an eyebrow, he hadn't known what his boss had been creating and before he and his friend were sent here, they weren't told what this woman was. So as Vanessa began to grow in height, he became just that little bit scared. Even more so when he saw her fingernails and fingers mould together to become pointy nail like claws and her top and bottom canine teeth began to elongate.

He finally moved the gun away from Liza when the creature in front of him stopped growing after becoming at least nine feet tall. The creature let out a ferocious roar and both men began to shoot at it, this made the creature even angrier and it picked up one of the men and threw it across the clearing, where he hit a tree and died. The other man looked at where the first had been thrown and then looked back at the creature, who's almost lion-like eyes were focused on him and him alone. He wisely dropped the gun and began to make a run for it, only to have the creature run after him.

He managed to get to the car, but the creature was faster and got to him before he had the chance to get the key in the lock. The creature threw him away from the car and picked the car up, giving a loud roar, before getting ready to throw the metal box like structure. It would've done if Liza hadn't got in the way.

"Nessa, it's alright, I'm fine. Don't hurt him. Please don't hurt him?" She begged.

Calming down a little, the creature slowly lowered the vehicle until it was on the ground again. Liza then led the creature away from it, looking at the man.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll get in that car and you won't ever come back" she said.

The man nodded and ran to his car, getting in and speeding away. Little did Liza know, the entire thing, from Vanessa's transformation to how Liza calmed her down, had been caught on tape. A man was hiding in the bushes and had seen the whole thing. E put his hand to his ear and began to speak.

"I got the footage, this is gonna make a fortune" he said.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_**A/N: Oh ho ho ho. So...here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. At first, I thought that maybe putting the death of Jason and then doing it eleven years later would be a little confusing, but as I read it, it seems as if it actually works out fine. Now I promised people that if they reviewed then I would give you all a sneak peek of the next chapter. Well, I only got one review, but still, a promise is a promise. So here's the sneak peak of the next chapter. **_

_Six months later. _

"Come on Nessa, you gotta get back out there" Liza said.

Vanessa gave her friend a look and shook her head.

"They're after me Liz, you almost died because they got to you, which made that...thing come out" she said.

Her face then crumpled and she heard something in the back of her mind.

_'I am not a thing thank you, I am a part of you. So thus for, I am you' _it said.

She ignored it, thinking that she was just imagining it, but later that night, when she fell asleep, she saw it.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_**So there it is. I hope it has your tongues wagging for more and when I get some more reviews. I will be giving you more. And don't worry about Felis Leo, I will update that when I can think of how to have Vanessa meet Tony without Tony being too OOC. Anyhow, I'd like to say thank you too...**_

_**- DoctorMerlinfan  
- thebloodyrose77  
- Maniacal Daydreamer**_

_**For reviewing on my story, your reviews mean so much to me. I'd also like to say thank you too** Jenfalls23**, **Maniacal Daydreamer**, **Neo Nitro**, ** .313**, **Aniles** for favouriting and following my story. They mean as much to me as reviews do. So again thank you so much. Now I want to say, that soon the first Avengers movie will start, so after the part with Vanessa and the mysterious thing that she is supposed to be seeing in her dream has happened, so if it suddenly goes from Vanessa's life to the first Avengers movie scene, don't worry. I hope you are all still enjoying this story and I hope that I am providing all that I can for you, my readers. As I always say, I don't write these stories for my entertainment, I write them for yours, so if you think it could be better, please don't hesitate to let me know.**_

_**Vampyrex1**_


	4. Chapter 4: Changes

**Author:** Vampirerex1  
**Beta: Grand Master Darkstorm  
****Category:** Movies - Avengers  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, they belong to Marvel. I'm only playing with the characters. I only own Vanessa Leo, Maddison Leo, James Leo, Jason Bantim, Martha Bantim and Liza Bantim  
**Genre(s):** Romance/Adventure  
**Music suggested for chapter**: Evanescence - My Immortal  
**Pairing(s):** Hulk/Bruce Banner/OC, with a possible Thor/OC.  
**Rating** for chapter: T  
**Summary:** Our life's a stage, a comedy; either learn to play and take it lightly or bear its troubles patiently - palladas. Vanessa Leo isn't your typical human woman. She was born with feline DNA laying dormant until she is electrocuted when she is three. From then on her life is turned upside down, but can she find love in an unlikely place? Can a 'monster' find love in our feline? Or will a Norse God earn her heart?  
**Title:** Love and Monsters.  
**Warning(s):** none.

_Know thyself means this, that you get  
acquainted with what you know, and what  
you can do - **Menander**_

**Chapter 4: **Changes

_Six months later. _

"Come on Nessa, you gotta get back out there" Liza said.

Vanessa gave her friend a look and shook her head.

"They're after me Liz, you almost died because they got to you, which made that...thing come out" she said.

Her face then crumpled and she heard something in the back of her mind.

_'I am not a thing thank you, I am a part of you. So thus for, I am you' _it said.

She ignored it, thinking that she was just imagining it, but later that night, when she fell asleep, she saw it. It was a tall creature, with golden brown hair all over its body, long claw-like nails, long top and bottom canine teeth and golden brown eyes. Vanessa looked up at it and shrank back in a bit of fear.

_'Do not fear me child, I will not harm you' _the creature said.

Vanessa was still a little scared, but her own curiosity took over and she slowly began to walk forwards.

"What are you?" She asked.

The creature gave a little bit of a laugh, a beautiful sound, alluring and musical almost.

_'I am what you would call, a creature of your rage. I appear when you get too angry or feel any intense emotion, a form of protection if you will' _it said.

Vanessa shook her head.

"How can you be a part of me? I'm just an ordinary five foot four inch plump Eighteen year old girl" she said.

Again the creature laughed and this time it came down to Vanessa's level.

_'My dear child, there is nothing ordinary about you. I have been with you since the day you were born, I was woken when you were electrocuted in that educational institute for young children' _it said.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow, thinking about what the creature had just said, she didn't remember being electrocuted in kindergarten, no matter how many times her mother had told her about it. It took a while for all of this to sink in and then she took in a deep breath.

"Okay...so what do I call you?" She asked.

The creature got a glint in her eye and gave a toothy grin.

_'You may call me Felis'_ it said.

Vanessa nodded and swallowed. It took some time for the information to sink in properly before she cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Okay Felis...I uh...I guess it's nice to meet you" she said.

Felis gave another toothy grin and then disappeared.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_Eight Years Later (Stuttgart Germany)_

Clouds of grey covered the sky, Vanessa looked up at it from where she was sat on a water feature outside of a large building in Stuttgart Germany. She and Liza had gone there so that Liza could meet with a friend and Vanessa was just waiting for her adoptive sister to finish whatever she was doing so that they could go back to their hotel and get ready to leave in the morning. All of a sudden, Vanessa heard screaming and turned around to see people running out of the large building behind her. Great, that was just what she needed, something to cause panic and bring Felis out. She'd been almost two years without any kind of incident with Felis and now it looked like another incident was going to occur. The crowd of people were followed out by a man, whose clothes changed from formal evening attire to what looked like battle attire of some sort.

_'What the?' _She thought.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Liza and her friend there. She gave a smile and they began to try and get away from whatever was going to happen here. But the man in the strange armour began to speak.

"Kneel before me" he said.

None of the people did that, they weren't going to kneel down to a complete stranger. Even if he had just practically ripped someone's eyeball out of the socket. This didn't seem to please the man and he held his stick thing up.

"I said KNEEL!" He yelled.

The man banged his stick thing on the ground and many more versions of him appeared around the crowd of people. This time everyone did as told. Vanessa wasn't about to do anything this man had said, but she felt a tug on her arm and so complied with the man's order. The man seemed to smile at this.

"Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled, in the end, you will always kneel" he said.

Just then an elderly man stood up and Liza's friend put her hand to her mouth.

"Grandpa" she whispered.

Liza began to try and move closer to the old man.

"Not to men like you" the old man said.

The other man smirked.

"There are no men like me" he said.

Liza reached the elderly man and reached up to put a hand on his.

"There are always men like you" he said.

The male in the battle armour smirked and pointed his stick at the elderly man.

"Look to your elder people, let him be an example" he said.

As he was about to fire something out of the stick, Liza got up and got in front of the old man.

"NO!" She yelled.

Vanessa saw this and began to feel her heart rate rising. She didn't want to lose control with so many people who could get hurt around. But Felis wasn't happy with the way the male was threatening her pride mate and she wanted out. Vanessa closed her eyes tightly.

_'Just please don't hurt anyone' _she mentally begged.

She then began to change. Her body becoming taller, her hair growing longer, her eyes golden brown and her fingers and fingernails moulding together to become long claw-like appendages. Everyone around her began to gasp and mutter about what was happening. Once she had finished changing, Felis looked over at the male and growled loudly. She then began to run towards him, managing to dodge the bolts of energy that were being fired out of that stick thing the male held. She reached him and grabbed him by the arm that held the stick thing, throwing him away from the people and letting out an almighty roar. Liza looked over to where the creature was and her shoulders sagged a little.

"Oh no" she whispered.

She was regretting standing in front of the old man. She'd completely forgotten how protective Vanessa and Felis were of her. She gave a sigh as her friend came up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Liz, i-is that _thing_ Vanessa?" She asked.

Liza gave her friend a disgusted look, she had thought her friend was a good person, someone who welcomed all things, but obviously she was wrong and she felt her own blood boil at the notion of her friend thinking her adopted sister some kind of freak, a _thing_.

"Yes, that _thing _is my adopted sister. What of it?" She asked back.

Her friend swallowed, seeing the heated look on her face. She didn't say anything more after that. By this time though, the male had Felis on the floor, her arms in one of his hands and the stick moving closer to her face. Felis managed to get one arm out of the grasp and grabbed the hand of the male's that had the stick. She growled as she began to squeeze, her nails digging into her own palm and his arm at the same time. The male looked at her hand and then back at her.

"Impossible, no being can harm me!" He yelled.

Felis growled and snarled before viciously snapping his arm away from her face, causing him to hiss and drop the stick like thing. He then put his foot against her chest and pushed her away with such force that when she banged into the water feature, she broke it. Then, two males appeared, one wearing a spangly outfit and the other wearing a suit of armour that was both red and golden. The male wearing the suit of armour held out all kinds of weapons to the male who was wearing the battle attire.

"Make a move reindeer games" he said.

While all this was happening, Liza made her way over to where Felis was watching the scene with heat still in her golden brown eyes. She wanted to tear that male apart for threatening her pride mate. Liza put her hand on Felis's shin, which made Felis jump and look down at her. Her golden eyes softened a little and as one of the males turned around to look at her, she slowly began to calm down and shrink. Liza took her long coat off and got it ready. When Vanessa was back to her normal size, Liza draped the coat over her naked body. The man with the spangly outfit came over to them.

"Thank you Ma'am" he said.

Liza gave him a smile.

"It's not me you should be thanking, but her" she said.

During this, the woman in the jet had contacted Director Fury, who had told her to bring the woman in. The woman nodded and walked out of the jet, telling the others about what had been said. The man in the spangly outfit nodded and looked at the unconscious woman and the conscious woman. The other woman smiled.

"Would you mind coming with us, you and her?" She asked.

Liza was hesitant, swallowing.

"Are you with S.H.I.E.L.D?" She asked.

The other woman nodded and Liza nodded again.

"Then yes, we will come with you. But I can't carry her" she said.

The man in the Spangly outfit took care of that, picking her up, blushing when he saw that she had no clothing on underneath the coat.

**~Love and Monsters~**

**_A/N: Okey Dokey. Here's the fourth chapter. It took me a while to write this. I hope you're all still enjoying the story. It makes me happy to see that my story is getting a load of hits. Anyhow, I'm sure you were expecting the first scene of The Avengers movie, the scene at S.H.I.E.L.D HQ, but I decide not to put that part in because it just wouldn't have anything to do with Nessa. So, again the fourth chapter. I promise you, I haven't stolen any of this from a very good story on here called Coursing Through My Veins. I've even had it checked by the author of said story and she said it was only a little and that it qas nothing to go off on one about. Anyhow, thank you to my reviewers. It makes me happy to see that you're enjoying the story. Anyhow, I'd like to say thank you too..._**

**_- DoctorMerlinfan  
- thebloodyrose77  
- Maniacal Daydreamer_**

**_for your wonderful reviews, they all keep me going and help me to pump out these chapters faster. I'd also like to say thank you too _**_Felidaes' Tale**, **Jenfalls23**,** Maniacal Daydreamer**, **Neo Nitro**, **RandomnessIsKey01**,** .313**, **Aniles**, ** ** and **nickywolfe **for favouriting and following my story, those too make me as happy as reviews do. Anyhow, enjoy the story and thank you again.**_

_**Vampyrex1**_


	5. Chapter 5: SHIELD

**Author:** Vampirerex1  
**Beta: Grand Master Darkstorm  
****Category:** Movies - Avengers  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, they belong to Marvel. I'm only playing with the characters. I only own Vanessa Leo, Maddison Leo, James Leo, Jason Bantim, Martha Bantim and Liza Bantim  
**Genre(s):** Romance/Adventure  
**Music suggested for chapter**: Skillet - Hero  
**Pairing(s):** Hulk/Bruce Banner/OC, with a possible Thor/OC.  
**Rating** for chapter: T  
**Summary:** Our life's a stage, a comedy; either learn to play and take it lightly or bear its troubles patiently - palladas. Vanessa Leo isn't your typical human woman. She was born with feline DNA laying dormant until she is electrocuted when she is three. From then on her life is turned upside down, but can she find love in an unlikely place? Can a 'monster' find love in our feline? Or will a Norse God earn her heart?  
**Title:** Love and Monsters.  
**Warning(s):** none.

_Life is like the dice that, falling, still shows a different face.  
So life, though it remains the same, is always presenting  
different aspects. **- Alexis**_

**Chapter 5: **S.H.I.E.L.D

When Vanessa woke up, she was blinded by the way the light shone off of the pristine white walls and when she inhaled involuntarily she noticed that there was a distinct hospital-like smell. A noise startled her and she jumped into a sitting position, she had made herself look as big as possible, the same thing that cats do when scared. There was nothing more for a while, until she heard a hissing sound and she jumped off of the bed and ran into the adjacent room to hide from it. After a few minutes, she peeked her head around the doorframe to see a man in a black coat stood there, he had a black patch over his left eye and he had dark skin. He looked over at her and she hid again.

"Miss Leo" he said.

She furrowed her brow, but stayed hidden. How did this man know the last name of her real mother? The name she'd taken on when she was old enough to know about her real mother. She once again peeked her head around the doorframe to look at the man, her eyes frightened but curious at the same time.

"I don't want to hurt you Miss Leo" he said.

She snorted and hissed in pain as she moved back, her ankle was painful and when she looked down at it she noticed it was swollen. Why hadn't she noticed it before? Was it because of the adrenaline running through her body or because of something else entirely? She looked around the doorframe again and glared at him.

"How do I know you're not trying to throw me off by making it seem like you don't want to hurt me, but in reality you are going to hurt me and do tests on me?" She asked.

The man looked at her and raised an eyebrow, turning his body towards her as well, his feet placed at shoulder width apart and his hands behind his back. He looked like he could be trusted, but as a cat, she didn't trust very easily.

"I assure you Miss Leo, I do not wish to harm you" he replied.

Vanessa looked into his eye and then carefully walked out of the room she had been hiding in, either unaware of her state of undress or not bothered by it.

"Where am I, who are you and what do you want?" She asked.

The man motioned to the bed that was at the other side of the room and slowly, Vanessa walked over to it, keeping her eyes on his at all times. When she was over at the bed, she sat up on it and the man came to stand in front of her but not in her personal space.

"I am Nick Fury director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division...S.H.I.E.L.D if you prefer. You are currently on our helicarrier HQ and as for what we want, well that is simple Miss Leo, we have reason to believe that you could help us" he answered.

Vanessa frowned again and looked up at the man.

"H-how could I help you?" She questioned.

Nick gave a small smile.

"That we have yet to determine Miss Leo" he replied.

Vanessa's face didn't change, she was still frowning. As Nick went to walk out of the room, she called to him.

"How do you know me?" She asked.

Nick looked at her and gave a smile.

"There isn't anyone that we don't know Miss Leo" he stated.

Vanessa nodded and watched as he walked out of the room.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_A few hours later_

A few hours went past and then the door slid open again and a woman with red hair stepped through the door. Vanessa looked up at her and then sat up on the bed, she looked over the woman and then looked around the room. The woman looked at her and gave a bit of a small smile.

"I've been sent to bring you to the deck" she said.

Vanessa looked at her and got up off of the bed standing in front of the woman in just her bra and panties. The woman looked at her state of undress and went over to the wardrobe in the room and pulled out a top and some pants. She handed them to Vanessa, who took them and then walked into the adjacent room to get changed into them. When she had finished, she walked back out and prepared to follow the other woman.

"Are you ready?" The woman asked.

Vanessa nodded and the other woman began to walk out of the door. She sighed and began to follow, her bare feet hardly making any noise on the floor as she walked. The other woman took Vanessa to the deck and she looked around at the sight, that is until she realised they were in the air, she stopped at the door and refused to walk any farther. The other woman came back to give her a look.

"You alright?" She asked.

Vanessa looked at her and scowled.

"Who's bright idea was it to bring me onto a floating death trap?" She asked back.

As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Usually she wasn't one to back chat anyone except her sister unless she was angry, or Felis was taking over. She closed her eyes and silently begged for Felis not to make an appearance now. She looked back up at the woman, who was looking worried. The other woman then pointed to Fury and Vanessa sighed.

"Great, bring me to a place where Felis is more likely to make an appearance than she is on the ground" she stated.

At hearing this, Fury turned around and Vanessa looked at him.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow, her eyes a mixture of golden brown and jade.

"I'm a lion Mister Fury, we Lions don't tend to like heights" she replied.

Fury raised an eyebrow back and Vanessa gave a bit of a smile, it was clear to her that he was a little worried, even more so by the fact that he had his hand on his gun holster.

"Relax Mister Fury, Nessa's asked me not to make a full appearance so...you're all safe...for now" she said.

Fury still kept his hand on his gun holster, in case. However, Vanessa walked forward, her eyes now pure jade again.

"Have you figured out what you need me for yet Mister Fury?" She asked.

The man looked at her and turned back towards the front of the plane/ship thing. Vanessa sighed.

"I'll take that as a no, in which case sir, could you please let me go?" She asked.

Fury turned around and then looked to the female agent next to her.

"Agent Hill, could you escort Miss Leo down to the labs please?" He asked.

The woman nodded and walked up to Vanessa, who sighed again and gave a bit of a growl before beginning to walk towards where the agent was directing her.

**~Love and Monsters~**

A few minutes later, Agent Hill and Vanessa arrived at the labs and Agent Hill directed her into one specific lab, a lab that had a male already in it.

"Why am I being brought down here? I didn't even get an answer to my question" Vanessa said.

Agent Hill gave her a bit of a smile and looked over to the man.

"Doctor Banner, Director Fury requested that Miss Leo be brought down to your lab" she said.

The man nodded and Vanessa threw her arms up in the air.

"Is anyone going to actually speak to me on this damned death trap?" She asked.

Agent Hill looked at her.

"I'm sure when Director Fury works out a reason for you to be here, you will be the first to know" she replied.

Vanessa gave a small growl and her eyes flashed.

"Then why am I here if I have no reason to be?!" She hissed.

Agent Hill backed off a little and Vanessa's face went from one of anger to one of apology and fear.

"Uh...I'm sorry" she said.

Bruce Banner watched this altercation with interested eyes, something made Agent Hill back away from this new woman, but what it was he couldn't tell. There was one thing he did know though, when she growled, it stirred the _Other Guy_ inside of him. Agent Hill gave a small smile to Vanessa and walked out, leaving Vanessa and Bruce alone together.

"Uh...hi" he said.

Vanessa turned around and gave a half wave, smiling slightly before her hands went down to fiddle with the hem of her shirt.

"Hi" she said.

Bruce smiled a little, it seemed he wasn't really going to get much else out of her as she walked over to a chair in the lab.

**~Love and Monsters~**

Half an hour went past and then Agent Hill came into the lab again.

"Director Fury is about to start interrogating Loki if you wish to watch it" she said.

Bruce nodded and looked at Vanessa who got up and gave a sigh.

"I guess I have to come with you as you've been declared my unofficial jailer" she muttered.

This got Bruce to give a little smile, as quiet as this woman was at times, she was also quite feisty. It seemed the _Other Guy_ liked that about her. He motioned for her to walk out first and she did, following the agent up to the deck and to a large table that was just up from the main deck. There were some other people there, including the agent from earlier, a man in a red, white and blue outfit and a man who looked like he had just come from one of Shakespeare's plays. They all took a seat and Vanessa watched as a screen appeared on the table, it showed the man from Germany inside a cell made of glass. Fury then stepped into the picture.

_"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass..." _he began.

He pressed a button and a hatch underneath the cell opened, Loki walked over to the edge and looked down as much as he could through the glass.

_"Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" _He asked.

Fury then motioned to Loki.

_"Ant..." _He began.

He then motioned to the panel he'd just pressed.

_"Boot" _he said.

Loki gave a bit of a smirk.

_"It's an impressive cage, not built I think...for me" _he said.

Fury gave him a look.

_"Built for two creatures a lot stronger than you" _he stated.

Loki smirked again.

_"Oh I've heard...and seen" _he began.

He then looked at the camera at the other side of the cage, almost as if he were seeing the people who were watching the screens.

_"Two mindless beasts who make the play they're still man and woman. How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?" _He asked.

Fury scowled a little.

_"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control, you talk about peace and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate, you might not be glad you did" _he replied.

Loki gave a smirk and then pursed his lips.

_"Ooh...it burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share and then to be reminded what real power is" _he said.

Fury this time gave a smirk.

_"Well let me know if **real power **wants a magazine or something" _he said.

Then he walked off and the screens at the table went dark. By this time, Bruce had stood up and was standing behind a chair.

"He really grows on you doesn't he?" He asked.

The man in the red, white and blue outfit then began to speak.

"Loki's gonna drag this out, so Thor, what's his play?" He asked.

The man dressed like he'd just come out of a Shakespeare play, who was now known as Thor came out of his stupor and began to speak.

"He has an army, called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people, they will win him the Earth in return I suspect for the Tesseract" he replied.

The man in the red, white and blue outfit raised his eyebrows incredulously.

"An army, from out of space?" He asked.

Bruce then thought of something and took his glasses off of his face.

"So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for" he said.

This brought Thor back to Earth again.

"Selvig?" He asked.

Bruce looked at him.

"He's an astrophysicist" he replied.

Thor got a solemn look on his face.

"He's a friend" he said.

The agent from before lifted her head from her arms on the table.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours" she said.

Then the man in the red, white and blue outfit spoke again.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him, he's not leading an army from here" he said.

Bruce then thought for a minute.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That's guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him" he said.

This seemed to ignite something in Thor.

"Have care how you speak, Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard and he's my brother" he said.

The female agent from earlier looked up at him.

"He killed eighty people in two days" she said.

Thor got a look of vulnerability about him.

"He's adopted" he said.

Though it was more a question than a statement.

"Iridium, what do they need Iridium for?" Bruce asked.

Then a voice came out of nowhere which belonged to none of the people in the room.

"It's a stabilising agent" it said.

As the man who the voice belonged to walked into the room, he was talking to another man, before he looked to the other people in the room.

"It means the portal won't collapse in on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D" he said.

He then walked up to Thor.

"No hard feelings point break, you've got a mean swing" he said.

He then looked at Bruce.

"Also it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants" he said.

He then began to babble to the crew on deck and then Nessa zoned out until the man came up to Bruce.

"It's good to meet you Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled and I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster" he said.

Bruce didn't seem to like that very much and Nessa tried to look unimportant and it worked until the man spotted her.

"And I like your work too Miss..." he began.

Vanessa looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Leo" she said.

The man smiled and held out his hand.

"Miss Leo, haven't seen much of your work, but what I have seen I'm impressed by" he stated.

Vanessa had carefully taken the hand, but squeezed a little tighter as he said that.

"You're impressed by the monstrous being that killed several people, four of them were little girls at a school? If that's true sir, then, though I may not be a physician I would recommend you see someone about that" she said.

The man winched slightly and for the first time, Bruce was truly interested in what Vanessa had said. After this though, Bruce cleared his throat.

"Thanks" he muttered.

Then Fury walked into the room.

"Doctor Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him" he said.

Vanessa looked up at him.

"Figured out a reason for my being here yet?" She asked.

Fury looked at her.

"I was hoping you might stick around to help us if and when the time comes that Loki has already created the portal and a war begins" he replied.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"And what? I change and she destroys everything that steps into her path?" She asked.

Fury gave her a look.

"I'm wagering that you have more control than that" he stated.

Vanessa rolled her eyes.

"How much are you willing to bet?" She muttered.

Steve cleared his throat.

"Lets start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon" he said.

Fury looked over to him and got back on subject.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys" he said.

Thor looked genuinely confused about that remark.

"Monkeys? I do not understand" he said.

Steve was quick to butt in.

"I do!" He exclaimed.

He then looked around to see everyone looking at him.

"I understood that reference" he muttered.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and mumbled something about him being a retard and then leaned back in her chair, staring at the roof. She looked over to the other genius man and saw him roll his eyes before he looked back to Dr. Banner.

"Shall we play Doctor?" He asked.

Doctor Banner nodded.

"Lets play some" he said.

They then both walked out of the room and Vanessa got up and followed them.

**~Love and Monsters~**

_**A/N: I am sooooo sorry for not updating quicker, I've been working on other things and have had some problems at home too. But now I have this chapter up and I really hope you enjoy it. Yes I did use a couple of the scenes from the Avengers movie and will continue to do so as well. It states in my disclaimer that I don't own it so I should be alright...I hope I'll be alright. Anyhow, enjoy the chapter and I'd like to say thank you too...**_

_********__- DoctorMerlinfan  
- thebloodyrose77  
- Maniacal Daydreamer_  
- RiverOfTheWolf  
- ZizFox  
- Gantu's Akeyla

_**For your reviews and I'd also like to thank **thebloodyrose77**, **serie-movie**,** ryan bradley.313**, **nickywolfe**, **kylie roby.58**, ** **, **RiverOfTheWolf**,** Maniacal Daydreamer**, **Lynn Kyzar**, **LHNT**, **Jenfalls23**, **AkatsukiMercy1515**, **ZizFox**, **RandomnessIsKey01**, **Neo Nitro** and **Felidaes' Tale **for favouriting and following this story. As always, the favourites and follows mean just as much to me as the reviews do. So thank you very much for all of them and enjoy the story.**_

_**Vampyrex1**_


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